Traveling and studying and such

I am on the annual Fall CMU Chorale Tour. I love this part of my job. Some years I can stay more than one night in the same hotel, but this year I'm mostly hotel hopping. Between visits to schools, church concerts, hosting receptions, checking in and out of hotels and driving from one place to another I haven't had the time to do some of the things I really want to do - like blogging. My road map for six days looks something like this:

Rocheport to Columbia to Boonville to Camdenton to Lebanon to Branson to Bolivar to Maryland Heights to Florissant to Ladue to Chesterfield to Waynesville to Rolla to St. James to Columbia to Fayette to Rocheport.

As soon as I can (hopefully during some down time tomorrow) I am going to write about...wait for it...tea towels.

Wayman's Song

I got to work this morning and found this in my inbox. It was sent to me by my stepfather. For those who don't know it, I had a strong affection as I was growing up for Wayman Tisdale when he played basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. His death brought a sadness to me and this song, written and sung by Toby Keith, expresses beautifully what a wonderful man Wayman was.

Toby Keith More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Awesome (like hot dogs) Weekend

It was another great Rocheport weekend. Thursday, I got a message from our friend, Pete, asking if he could come visit. It was perfect timing. We had nothing scheduled. Plus, he was our first overnight visitor from our friends in KC so that made it even more special. This is a long, boring post. So, if you read nothing else at least read this list:

Some interesting things from the weekend:
1. Pete got to see our small town in action - meaning there were some large, unattended brush fires being burnt, and people were walking around with open beer bottles and glasses of wine. Ahh, the joys of fall in a town with no law enforcement!
2. We saw a light on in our occupied neighbor’s house for the first time since moving toRocheport almost three years ago.
3. Pete is a dog whisperer and got our 18 month old Lewis to listen and obey. Amazing!
4. Pete can run really fast - even if he says he can’t.
5. Emerson did not write the quote that begins, “Success…to laugh often and much…”
6. MidMo is becoming home to us. We ran into several people we knew while in Columbia.
7. The Rocheport General Store no longer makes breakfast, but Dean (the owner) is happy to make breakfast for you as long as you are willing to eat what he cooks.
8. The window booth at Shakespeare’s Pizza makes for excellent people watching.
9. A 40-minute wait at a new restaurant really means more like a 60 minute wait.
10. Guys don’t like girly shops even when they are offering free liquor.

Pete arrived in Fayette a little after 3pm on Friday. I gave him a quick tour of campus (along with the family of a deceased alumnus). Then, we drove to Columbia to get Steve at his office (he still was without a car from hitting a deer a week ago) and Pete got the grand tour there. We decided to go to Shakespeare’s for pizza, but it was crazy crowded. So, we drove downtown to try out the new Broadway Brewery. We had some time to wait and so we went into the girly shops in The District who were having an open house and were serving drinks with liquor in them. After waiting longer than expected we headed down to the Mississippi Fish Shack and had some rockin’ catfish and fried pickles. After dinner I had to take Pete to my favorite place – Tropical Liqueurs. We got our drinks “to go” and headed home. Once we were back in Rocheport we changed clothes, grabbed our drinks and headed to the train tunnel and to see if we’d run into Chief Brownpants. There was no Chief to be found, but there were enough noises and flying things in the tunnel that Steve couldn’t even get halfway through it. Upon returning home we played some mad rounds of Rack-O. I kicked Steve’s and Pete’s asses!

Saturday morning we took it easy – despite being invited to a Mizzou tailgate. Around 11am we went out to the KATY trail for a quick 20 minute run/walk. Steve kicked my ass and Pete kicked Steve’s ass. We ended up going out 20 minutes and then walked back. It was a little warm for running, but we still had a great time. We headed into Columbia around 1pm and grabbed lunch at Shakespeare’s Pizza. YUMMY! From there we made a quick run to Wal-Mart to get stuff for dinner and headed back to Rocheport. After dropping off the groceries we went to Les Bourgeois Winery. It was a perfect day to be sitting out at the A-Frame. Pete and I shared a bottle of wine. When we got home I took a nap while Steve and Pete cooked dinner. Then, we ate Steve’s famous inside-out burgers while watching the first half of the OU/Nebraska game (boo). At half-time we headed down to the Rocheport General Store to hear the Rum Runners play. To my surprise, as soon as I walked in the door I saw an old friend from KC, Sarah, who was staying with her mom at the School House B&B right across from our house. She had no idea we lived in the town. Small world. I got hit on by a very drunk man; I then very quickly introduced him to my husband; and then the drunk man proceeded to high-five Steve throughout the evening. When we got back home we played Phase 10 and Pete won. It was past our bedtimes so we all went to bed.

Sunday morning after sharing some coffee and conversation we got dressed and headed to Columbia to meet some of Steve’s coworkers for a game of “touch” football. My team lost – twice. We all headed to B&B for bagels and beverages and then it was time to head our separate ways. We said goodbye to Pete and he headed back to KC.

I can't think of anything that could have made it more perfect except for a Sooners victory.

Blog Share 5.0

I am honored to present you with today's post. She has shared from her heart and I appreciate the trust of her to send this post to Blog Share.

My son is nine. My son thinks he's gay.

And I say that, knowing that I would never say that he thinks he's straight, even if such a thing were true, which, of course, it's not. I mention this last point simply to show that heteronormativity is far too easy to fall into, even for those of us who think we treat everyone equally and squirm at the thought, always so close to the surface, that there might be a need to point out that we think we treat everyone equally.

I can't even remember how he told me. I just remember that it was very natural, and that it was about a year ago. I spent some time trying to figure out what he was really saying. My husband's still not totally convinced. My son, on the other hand, is pretty sure. He knows what it means to LIKE like someone. A few of the girls in his class LIKE like him. His best friend LIKE likes a little girl.

Since then, he's told me that he has a crush on a little boy in his class, and that the other boy is NOT gay. Their conversations go something like this:

"I want you to be my boyfriend.
""NO. THAT'S GAY."
"Yeah, I'm gay. I said that. I really want to kiss you."

I get the sense that this is all very overwhelming for the other little boy, and that he is not sure what to make of it all. He hurts my son's feelings, but it's hard to turn off a crush. Especially when you're nine.

So we've had talks about how to tell people you're gay. I have no experience with this. My gay friends generally didn't tell anyone they were gay until they were well into their teens, even though they knew when they were around the same age my son is now.

When the Prop 8 silliness was happening in California, my son watched a TV commercial about how terrible it was for gay people to get married or have kids. He turned to me: "They think it's BAD to be gay, but it's not! *I* want to be gay!"

Sometimes I just want to wrap him up and hold him tight. I want to protect him from the people who would say such things.

People like my parents.

And that's why I can't post this on my own blog.

Today is the 5th installment of Blog Share. This is my 3rd time to participate. Essentially, several bloggers loan their space for a day to another blogger and all those participating write something that is anonymously posted on another participant's blog. Somethings are funny; somethings are serious. Many people use this as an outlet to share something they'd really like to write about on their own blog but for whatever reason can't do so. Others take is as an opportunity to simply share their perspective on something or introduce their writing to a new audience. Somewhere out there is a post from me. I'm happy with what I wrote although just this morning I though, "THAT'S what I should have written about." So, at least I have something for Blog Share 6.

I give my heartfelt thanks to -R- for organizing us and putting hours of work into Blog Share. Below is a list of all the blogs participating. So, feel free to hop around the blogosphere and see what else has been posted today.

Not the Daddy
O is for Olson
Red Red Whine
Rediscovering Me
Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills
The Reluctant Grownup
Sauntering Soul
Serendipity Now
Snarke
So, This Is a Treadmill
Thinking Some More
Time for Change
Together They Come
Wondering and Pondering
And You Know What Else
Andrea Unplugged
Arctic-ulate
Bright Yellow World
Bwildered
Catheroominations
Did I Say That Outloud?
Dispatches from the Failed Mommy Club
Full of Snark
Heidikins
Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men
Just Below 63
The Little Goat

Day 1

After not running since my injury in mid-March, Steve and I started a training program last night. Our goal is the April 11, 2010, half-marathon in St. Louis. It's totally doable. I'm having to really take baby steps - which is hard since I used to easily run four miles a day. However, I know I am essentially starting at ground zero and have a lot of base-building to do.

Last night we did and easy 20 minute run/walk. That means we ran for 1 minute and then walked for 90 seconds and did this eight times. Pretty easy. I told Steve to push me this year because I tend to be a slow runner. I know I can run faster than my old pace. I got into a habit of running a slow pace because that's the pace my KC running partner and I set for ourselves and we were happy with that. Now, I want to get my pace to at least a 10 minute mile. I'd be thrilled if I could push it to a nine minute mile, but time and training will decide that.

The goal is to be able to run steadily (more than a jog) for 30 minutes without stopping and I anticipate being there in a couple of months. The last thing I want to do is injure myself again. Then, we'll start our official half-marathon training in mid-January. I'm excited!!

Halloween

Halloween was a busy day for us this year. I had to host a tailgate (my last one of the season) in Olathe, Kansas, at MidAmerica Nazarene University. So, I called it an early evening on Friday night because I had to get up at 5:30am on Saturday. A long-time friend of ours from CMU is moving to a retirement community in the KC area in December and she needed a ride to KC so she could go see her new apartment. So, I picked her up in Fayette a little before 7am and we got on the road. We had a nice ride to and from KC. I refer to Ilene as my "giggly girlfriend." She is 81 years old and the wife of the past (and now deceased) director of the CMU bands and dean of the conservatory. During college I mostly got to know her on school trips to Europe, but with my close ties to the conservatory we've stayed in touch over the years. Now, she's not only my friend, but my P.E.O. sister. But, I'm getting off topic.

After dropping off Ilene I headed to set up the tailgate. I mostly set it up by myself just because I got there early. My boss, Theresa, and her husband, Dick, were also working the tailgate. Theresa is the vp of advancement and Dick is the interim athletic director and dean of students. They were great people to work the tailgate with me and shared the wealth of visiting, hosting and entertaining. The weather was near perfect - sunny, but with a little too much of a breeze. We had about 40 people come to the party and I ordered just the right amount of food. YAY me!

Steve stayed in Rocheport because 1. Ilene needed a ride and there was only space in my car for one passenger and b. he couldn't go anywhere in his own car because he hit a deer on his way to work on Friday (he's okay, thank goodness). It turns out Rocheport is quite the happening place on Halloween. Steve saw lots of people on bikes dressed in costumes. They all seemed to be having a good time. He got word there was a dance party at the train tunnel so he made himself a drink and headed down there. He said it wasn't actually much of a party, but he had fun going downtown and seeing people from around town and the town being so active. He also received a message on Facebook from a friend of his that we should head to the General Store that night.

When I got home we turned on all the lights and were ready to pass out candy to the kiddies. In between answering the door we played three rounds of Clue Museum Caper (which I'm sure you've never heard of). It ended in a draw with both of us using enough logic to play the game that we did an excellent job of out-logicing each other just enough to make the "thief" lose when it was each other's turn as thief.

I passed out the candy and Steve kept count of how many trick-or-treaters we had (60, a low number from our past experience) and what costumes they were wearing. Several of the really little kids didn't want to come to our door because of the giant ghoul hanging from our second floor balcony. Their parents walked them to the door and the kids readily told us how scary it was. They were really cute. We were worried about what to do with the dogs while so many people were coming to the door and ended up putting both of them in the kennel. They behaved well together and it's nice to know we can put them both in there if ever the need arises.

We called it quits at 9pm, turned off all the lights, locked up the house and headed to the General Store. There was a local band playing and it was packed - just about everything that Steve hates. Fortunately, there was a corner full of Steve's theatre friends from the Turner Hall River Rats and so we were able to find a relatively comfortable place to hang out. We also met a neighbor of ours, Jeff, who lives just down the street. He's only been in town about 5-6 weeks. He's single, probably a little bit older than us and it sounds like he travels a lot for his job. We enjoyed visiting with him (even thought he's a Longhorn) and we extended an invitation for him to come by anytime. We'll see if any sort of friendship develops out of it. The time at the General Store made me appreciate living in the small town we live in. There were a lot of locals - some we knew and some we didn't, but also a lot of people who make Rocheport a destination town. Rocheport's a happy place and I'm proud to call it home.

We were in bed by 11pm. Even though we got an extra hour of sleep last night we were both pretty tired today. So, after church, and lunch and cake to celebrate Steve's mom's birthday, we came home and took naps. It's been a beautiful day and a good weekend. So far, fall has panned out quite nicely. Come visit us sometime!

El Salvador

My sister, Win, is in El Salvidor this week. Both my sister and brother-in-law, and Steve and me support children through Compassion International. Compassion sponsors trips to countries where they have different projects. The opportunity came up for Win to go to El Salvador where one of their sponsored children lives. There is a group of about 40 people she is traveling with. While they are there they will visit many of the Compassion projects and experience their programs first hand. Toward the end of the week Win will get to spend a day with the boy who lives there that they sponsor. While they will have a translator with them during that time Win wanted to be able to communicate some on her own. She's been diligently studying Spanish for the past several months. I'm very proud of her. She is updating us online at her cats' blog - which they are graciously letting her borrow for the week. Please be in prayer for Win, the other travelers, the Compassion workers, and the families and children in the projects they will be visiting and are involved with.

To add to this, Compassion International is a wonderful program. For $38 a month you can sponsor a child. You can either choose a child or they will pick one for you. Compassion is very responsible with the money donated through their program and 83.1% of the money donated goes directly toward their projects and the children involved in the programs. I know the economy is down and many of us are struggling, but if there is anyway you can find $38 to spare a month Compassion International's child sponsorship program is more than worth the money you will put into it.